Title:
Ardoyne: The Untold Truth (Ardoyne Commemoration Project)
Subject Categories:
Community and urban studies - Society and Culture
Political history - History
Social history - History
Conflict, security and peace - Politics
Political behaviour and attitudes - Politics
Holder(s)/Depositor(s) and Contact Details:
Lundy, PatriciaUniversity of Ulster, School of Sociology and Applied Sciences
Principal Investigator(s) and Contact Details:
Lundy, PatriciaUniversity of Ulster, School of Sociology and Applied Sciences
McGovern, Mark, EdgeHillCollege of Higher Education, Department of Social and
Psychological Sciences
Holland, Tom, 53 Falls Road, Belfast, BT12 4BD
Sponsor(s):
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust; Northern IrelandCommunity Relations Council; Community Foundation Fund; Belfast Regeneration Office
Abstract/Description:
This project explored issues related to conflict transition, victims of political violence, 'truth telling' and human rights, focusing initially on the Ardoyne community in North Belfast, but then relating this first phase of research to communities beyond the Ardoyne.
The first phase of the research, carried out under the auspices of the Ardoyne Commemoration Project (CAP), involved in-depth interviews with over 300 people from the Ardoyne community. Those selected were family, friends, neighbours or actual eyewitnesses to the death of 99 victims of the conflict who hailed from the Ardoyne. This process aimed to be completely inclusive: each victim’s death was recorded irrespective of its circumstances, this to avoid a “hierarchy of victimhood.” (Other key community members were purposively selected for interview to provide historical background on the conflict as it related to the Ardoyne.)
The second phase of the project sought to investigate the role, value and benefitsfor participants inthe initial study, and to assess the project’simpact on communities outside the Ardoyne. This involved interviews with a total of 30 individuals who participated in the ACP and 12 people purposively chosen as representatives of various groups and organisations from the wider nationalist and unionist communities. (Most of those unionist representatives interviewed did not wish to be recorded for personal reasons, but notes were taken of the interviews conducted.)
The methodology behind the project was highly participatory, the investigators going to enormous lengths to ensure that interviewees had maximum ownership over the research process. In this the research consciously sought to write “history from below”, striving to maintain the integrity of the subjects’ perceptions of and feelings about the conflict.
Publicly Available/Published Material Based on Study;
Lundy, P. and McGovern, M. (2005) ‘Participation, Truth and Partiality: Participatory Action Research, Community-based Truth-telling and Post-Conflict Transition in Northern Ireland', Sociology, Vol. 40, No.1, Feb 2006
Lundy, P. and McGovern, M. (2005) Community, ‘Truth-telling' and Conflict Resolution, Report published by CRC (NI), Belfast
Lundy, P & McGovern, M. (2005) ‘Community-based Approaches to Post-Conflict ‘Truth-telling’: Strengths and Limitations’, Community Relations Journal, Vol. 1.
Lundy, P. and McGovern, M. (2005) ‘Inside Silence: The Ardoyne Commemoration Project, Community-based Truth-telling and Post-Conflict Transition in the North of Ireland', in Ann Perotin et al. (eds) History and Memory: Argentina, Chile, Peru, Santiago, Chile
Lundy, P. and McGovern, M. (2005) ‘The Ethics of Silence: Action Research, Community ‘Truth-Telling', and Post-Conflict Transition in the North of Ireland', Action Research (forthcoming:2005)
Lundy, P. and McGovern, M. (2004) ‘'You understand again': Testimony and Post-Conflict Transition in the North of Ireland: The Ardoyne Commemoration Project, 1998-2002', Words and Silences: Journal of the International Oral History Association, Vol. 2, No. 2, June, pp. 30-35
Ardoyne: The Untold Truth (written and edited with Mark McGovern in collaboration with Ardoyne Commemoration Project). Beyond the Pale Publications, Belfast. 2002.
Lundy, P. and McGovern, M. (2001) ‘The Politics of Memory in Post-Conflict Northern Ireland', Peace Review, Vol. 13, No. 1, March, pp. 27-34.
Main Topics:
Political violence; ethnic conflict; social/political history; oral history; remembrance and commemoration; testimony; transitional justice
Coverage:
Time Period Covered: 1969-2002
Dates of Fieldwork: 1998-2002
Country: Northern Ireland
Geography: Ardoyne, Belfast
Spatial Units: Residential district
Observation Units: Individuals; communities
Kind of Data: CD ROM recordings and transcripts of in-depth, semi-structured interviews; edited transcripts of interviews for purpose of case-studies; edited transcripts of interviews for purpose of case-studies with written comments added by interviewees after review; written comments from offspring of victims on research project; video material documenting research project; copies of coroners’ reports on death of victims; notes on interviews with unionist representatives
Universe Sampled:
Location of Units of Observation: Subnational
Population: Residents of the Ardoyne district, primarily family, friends, neighbours or eye-witnesses of victims of political violence, or other selected key members of the community; selected representatives of various groups and organisations from the wider nationalist community in Belfast; selected representatives of mainly unionist victims groups in Belfast
Methodology:
Time Dimensions: Cross-sectional (one-time) study
Sampling Procedures: Purposive selection/case studies
Number of Units: 300+ (phase one); 12 (phase two)
Method of Data Collection: Face-to-face interviews
Weighting: Not applicable
Language(s) of Written Materials:
Study Description: English
Study Documentation: English
Access:
Access Conditions: Access currently restricted
Availability: The Ardoyne Commemoration Project
Contact:Patricia Lundy,University of Ulster, School of Sociology and Applied Sciences,
Copyright: Ardoyne Commemoration Project